Airbus has landed its first major order since the start of the pandemic. The company said it received an order of 255 new aircraft from private equity company Indigo Partners.
Indigo Partners, founded by investor Bill Franke, owns major stakes in several airlines operating in the U.S. and abroad. The aircraft the company ordered from Airbus will be used to bolster fleets owned by airlines partially owned by the company, such as Wizz Air in Hungary, Jetsmart in China and Argentina, and Volaris in Mexico.
Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said Indigo Partners' order was for 255 brand new A321 aircraft. Faury said the order was a "very positive signal" for the company and its eventual recovery. Faury did not say how much the new order was worth, but analysts said it is likely in the billions of dollars.
"It's an order that takes us into the second half of the decade - that's very important for Airbus to have visibility on the long term, to plan production as we move from Covid-19 that was [a] constrain on demand, to a world ... that is going to constrained by supply," Faury said.
Airbus struck the deal at the ongoing Dubai Air Show. The airline and aviation expo comes at a particularly difficult time for aircraft manufacturers, given the still recovering demand following the COVID-19 pandemic.
In response to the Covid-19 epidemic, countries throughout the world blocked their borders to foreign visitors. However, some countries, like the United States, have just recently reopened.
Airbus has experienced a drop in order numbers throughout the global crisis, but a rebound in air travel is projected to improve demand in the near future. Both Boeing and Airbus are forecasting a surge in demand for new jets over the next two decades.
Apart from the pandemic, aircraft manufacturers have also been struggling to keep up with stricter emission regulations. Airbus said that while the pandemic has significantly changed the market, climate change is now having a much more significant impact on how airlines are ordering their planes.
This year's aircraft expo in Dubai, which follows the high-profile COP26 climate meeting, has a strong emphasis on the sustainability of air travel. Following two weeks of discussions in Glasgow, Scotland, over 200 nations agreed on a pact on Saturday to attempt to avoid the worst effects of the climate crisis.
Airbus recently revealed details of three hydrogen-fueled concept planes, with the goal of entering the new planes into service by 2035. The designs vary in size and form, but they are all zero-emission and run on hydrogen as their principal source of energy.
